Toyota is Dead

[AdamSmith]

OK, that latest Prius runaway story only gets murkier.

 

Early narrative cast the driver under suspicion for his motives etc., as noted above.

 

Then, the story came out that NHTSA and Toyota could not replicate the problem. As reported in a congressional staffer's memo about the tests:

 

"Every time the technician placed the gas pedal to the floor and the brake pedal to the floor the engine shut off and the car immediately started to slow down," the memo read.

 

According to the memo, a Toyota official who was at the two-day inspection last week in suburban San Diego explained that an electric motor would "completely seize" if a system to shut off the gas when the brake is pressed fails, and there was no evidence to support that happened.

 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35870779/ns/business-autos/

 

But the AP story has just been updated to note a fact that seems to confirm the driver's account:

 

The congressional memo said both the front and rear brakes were worn and damaged by heat, consistent with Sikes saying that he stood on the brake pedal with both feet and was unable to stop the car. But if the fail-safe system worked properly, the brakes wouldn't have been damaged because power would have been cut to the wheels.

 

The plot thickens...

[Romann]

Blips on the radar.

 

Then, the story came out that NHTSA and Toyota could not replicate the problem.

 

Toyota and NHTSA officials and technicians have been unable to replicate any of the recent problems which have plagued Toyota including complaints received which resulted in the accelerator pedal recall and upgrade. Just some food for thought... I'm surely not defending this alleged complaint by any means but rather there are two sides to the coin and I think both sides are pushing their own agendas and question both parties equally.

 

So Toyota has a couple bruises that will follow them like a shadow for the next couple months but we have all seen this before. Faulty ignition switches causing car fires that trapped people in their homes and subsequently burned/smoked to death, rear gas tanks exploding during even light impact collisions, electrical and software failures and airbag deployments that caused severe damage to occupants to name just a small handful. Domestic car manufacturers have been involved in their share of famous car recalls. Anyone know what that total would be to current date? IMHO, I still feel very confident that Toyota and many foreign brands have been making and still do make a superior product which is reflected in their sales and return customers. I personally have owned foreign cars after my very first new car when I was 16 needed an engine replacement after just having it for 3 months. Trust me when I say it wasn't because of my driving as I've never been an erratic driver in my youth and I loved that car because of what it resembled - financial independence from my parents. There is something to be said about how one takes care of the items they personally purchase and I pampered that car - it was my first. I have always been pleased with foreign quality minus a few blips on the radar with one brand but overall these cars were of superior and outstanding quality at a very good price with well designed packaged options.

 

My heart goes out to anyone affected, hurt or killed due to ANY product but specifically issues concerning Toyota at present time. But, I also keep in mind that companies run statistics on what percentage of their customers will receive varying levels of harm and then of course the possibility of death due to the use of the product. I don't know about the rest of you but that doesn't settle well in my stomach or mind.

 

Now, I also think part of this hype about Toyota is politically motivated as well which is helping the hurting domestic car manufacturers to push sales. I'm not accusing any one party of doing this but I truly believe that it's motivated on both sides because such an increase in domestic sales would greatly help specific industries which about teetering on the now ulta-fine line of failure. But again, it's in the nations best interest to benefit directly or indirectly from these questionable quality standards that Toyota and probably other foreign manufacturers will experience.

 

That said, my 2nd car was a Toyota Celica which was a complete dream. The 4 years that I owned it, the only thing I ever invested into the car was regularly scheduled maintenance and replaced the front brake pads but never had to replace the rear system. I never had a mechanical problem with the car and was the 2nd owner of it - the previous owner had the car for 3 years before me. It was truly a great car and the replacement for a Ford which after having it for just 3 months the engine began to show signs of a critical failure. Sure enough, I took it in and even searched out a second opinion and both conclusions were the engine needed to go. Now, tell that to a 16 year old who just invested all his funds into their very first car. Obviously I about went over the deep end till I find that dear sweet Celica. Toyota makes a damn good product in my opinion and I wouldn't hesitate buying one this very day if I was in the market to get a bright new shiny car with all sorts of bells and whistles to make the biggest gadget nerd like me squeal like a kid in the sandbox.

 

A longtime childhood friend of mine were talking about Microsoft and their continual production, supply/demand problems and myriad of legal issues due to faulty software and production processes. His answer was very simple and a longtime programmer of software, "When humans design and produce products/services, those very products/services are flawed from the beginning due to humans by nature are flawed beings." which has resonated in my mind since then when thinking of any product or service in general.

 

Now, where did I put my shield?

[AdamSmith]

Toyota warned dealers in 2002 of throttle surging

 

Floor mats. Right.

 

Document: Toyota warned dealers of throttle surging in 2002

By Drew Griffin and David Fitzpatrick, CNN Special Investigations Unit

March 23, 2010 6:25 a.m. EDT

 

Auto manufacturer Toyota warned dealerships in 2002 that Camry owners were complaining about throttles surging and recommended adjustments in an electronic control unit to fix the problem, according to a document obtained by CNN.

 

The technical service bulletin went to every U.S. Toyota dealership in late August 2002 after some customers reported their vehicles were speeding up unexpectedly.

 

"Some 2002 model year Camry vehicles may exhibit a surging during light throttle input at speeds between 38-42 mph," the bulletin states. "The Engine Control Module (ECM) calibration has been revised to correct this condition."

 

Toyota, the world's largest automaker, has blamed acceleration surges on floor mats it says can trap accelerator pedals and recalled more than 2.3 million vehicles in January for sticky accelerator pedals. It has said that independent testing failed to find problems with its electronic throttle controls.

 

But Clarence Ditlow, the head of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety, said the 2002 document doesn't talk about mechanical issues.

 

"If you look at this document, it says electronics," Ditlow said. "It says the fix is reprogrammed in the computer. It doesn't say anything about floor mats."

 

The internal Toyota document was given to CNN by a group of attorneys now seeking a nationwide class-action lawsuit against the company. Ditlow said the document -- not previously made public -- indicates Toyota knew much earlier about an electronic connection to sudden acceleration problems. He also said the bulletin was apparently ignored or hidden from the public not only by Toyota, but also by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

 

"The government is really hiding this information from the consumer," Ditlow told CNN. "They're in a conspiracy with the auto industry to keep these out of the public's sight."

 

The attorneys now suing Toyota say the repair bulletin is proof the car company knowingly lied to the public about the causes of sudden acceleration, blaming floor mats or stuck gas pedals instead.

 

"They can fix these problems easily," said Tim Howard, a Northeastern University law professor who heads the legal group suing Toyota. "But it would cost them about $500 a car nationwide. If you have six [million] to seven million cars, you add the numbers -- it's between $4 [billion] and $5 billion. It's hard to actually tell the truth when those numbers are at the bottom of that truth."

 

NHTSA did not respond to requests for comment. And Toyota did not respond to questions about the bulletin, but it issued a statement to CNN attacking Howard and his fellow lawyers.

 

"Toyota strongly disputes these completely baseless allegations being driven by plaintiff's attorneys like Mr. Howard," the statement said. "Toyota intends to fight against these unfounded claims vigorously."

 

Howard and his legal team say they plan to appear in federal court in San Diego, California, later this week, trying to persuade a federal judge to combine the 88 individual lawsuits so far filed against Toyota into a single class-action litigation.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/03/22/toyota.throttle.warning/index.html?hpt=C1

[AdamSmith]

Are cosmic rays really causing Toyota's woes?

Regulators take closer look at design of electronics

BY JUSTIN HYDE

DETROIT FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF

POSTED: MARCH 16, 2010 | UPDATED: 3:02 A.M. MARCH 16, 2010

 

WASHINGTON -- It may sound far-fetched, but federal regulators are studying whether sudden acceleration in Toyotas is linked to cosmic rays.

 

Radiation from space long has affected airplanes and spacecraft, and is known for triggering errors in computer systems, but has received scant attention in the auto industry.

 

The questions show how deep regulators and automakers may have to dig to solve the mysteries of sudden acceleration. Toyota says it is fixing mechanical problems -- floor mats and sticky pedals -- that explain sudden acceleration in 13 models and 5.6 million vehicles.

 

But at least half of more than 1,500 recent complaints to regulators involve other models, raising questions whether Toyota has fixed its problem.

 

An anonymous tipster whose complaint prompted regulators to look at the issue said the design of Toyota's microprocessors, memory chips and software could make them more vulnerable than those of other automakers.

 

"I think it could be a real issue with Toyota," Sung Chung, who runs a California testing firm, said.

 

Toyota, which has led the auto industry in using electronic controls, told the Free Press its engine controls are "robust against this type of interference."

 

Cosmic rays offered as acceleration cause

 

Electronics makers have known for decades about "single event upsets," computer errors from radiation created when cosmic rays strike the atmosphere.

 

With more than 3,000 complaints to U.S. regulators of random sudden acceleration problems in Toyota models, several researchers say single event upsets deserve a close look.

 

The phenomenon can trigger software crashes that come and go without a trace. Unlike interference from radio waves, there's no way to physically block particles; such errors typically have to be prevented by a combination of software and hardware design.

 

And an anonymous tipster told NHTSA last month that "the automotive industry has yet to truly anticipate SEUs."

 

Such radiation "occurs virtually anywhere," said William Price, who spent 20 years at the Jet Propulsion Lab testing for radiation effects on electronics. "It doesn't happen in a certain locale like you would expect in an electromagnetic problem from a radio tower or something else."

 

Toyota staunchly defends its electronics, saying they were designed for "absolute reliability." Responding to the Free Press, Toyota said its systems "are not the same as typical consumer electronics. The durability, size, susceptibility and specifications of the automotive electronics make them robust against this type of interference."

 

Testing for the problem would involve putting vehicles in front of a particle accelerator and showering them with radiation, a step that experts said would help resolve the question.

 

"Nobody wants to come out and say we have issues and we need to test," said Sung Chung, president of the testing firm Eigenix.

 

The phenomenon was first noted in the 1950s affecting electronics at high altitudes; unlike electromagnetic waves, there are no ways to physically shield circuits from such particles. Airplane and spacecraft makers have long designed their electronics with such radiation in mind, through safeguards such as systems that triple-check data.

 

Only in the late 1970s did researchers discover that a minuscule portion of such radiation falls to earth. It's not enough to harm humans, but as circuits in computers and cell phones on the ground have shrunk to the width of several dozen atoms, the risk of errors has grown. "Five years ago, it was a problem in very few applications," said Olivier Lauzeral, general manager of IRoC Technologies, which tests chips and software for SEU resistance. "In the past couple of years, we've seen a rise in demand and interest."

 

In an anonymous e-mail last month to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a tipster said such an error "may be one reasonable explanation for incidents of sudden acceleration," adding that the automotive industry had yet to adapt the techniques used by aircraft firms to prevent problems from SEUs.

 

NHTSA added the tipster's information to its electronic investigative file on Toyota recalls. The agency declined several requests from the Free Press for comment.

 

Electronic throttle controls like the ones under scrutiny in Toyotas are widespread in the industry. They're more reliable than mechanical links, they save weight and space, and make other technology, like stability control, possible.

 

http://www.freep.com/article/20100316/BUSINESS0104/3160361/1014/business01

[KMEM]

I go with cosmic rays. The only other choice is the one often offered by Flip Wilson, the devil made me do it.

 

Best regards,

KMEM

[CowboyUp]

Generous Incentives Help Toyota Sales Rebound 41 Percent...

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/01/AR2010040103678.html?hpid=topnews

[AdamSmith]

AP IMPACT: In Toyota cases, evasion becomes tactic

By CURT ANDERSON and DANNY ROBBINS, Associated Press Writers – Sun Apr 11, 2:38 pm ET

 

MIAMI – Toyota has routinely engaged in questionable, evasive and deceptive legal tactics when sued, frequently claiming it does not have information it is required to turn over and sometimes even ignoring court orders to produce key documents, an Associated Press investigation shows.

 

In a review of lawsuits filed around the country involving a wide range of complaints — not just the sudden acceleration problems that have led to millions of Toyotas being recalled — the automaker has hidden the existence of tests that would be harmful to its legal position and claimed key material was difficult to get at its headquarters in Japan. It has withheld potentially damaging documents and refused to release data stored electronically in its vehicles.

 

For example, in a Colorado product liability lawsuit filed by a man whose young daughter was killed in a 4Runner rollover crash, Toyota withheld documents about internal roof strength tests despite a federal judge's order that such information be produced, according to court records. The attorneys for Jon Kurylowicz now say such documents might have changed the outcome of the case, which ended in a 2005 jury verdict for Toyota.

 

"Mr. Kurylowicz went to trial without having been given all the relevant evidence and all the evidence the court ordered Toyota to produce," attorney Stuart Ollanik wrote in a new federal lawsuit accusing Toyota of fraud in the earlier case. "The Kurylowicz trial was not a fair trial."

 

In another case involving a Texas woman killed when her Toyota Land Cruiser lurched backward and pinned her against a garage wall, the Japanese automaker told lawyers for the woman's family it was unaware of any similar cases. Yet less than a year earlier, Toyota had settled a nearly identical lawsuit in the same state involving a Baptist minister who was severely injured after he said his Land Cruiser abruptly rolled backward over him. Under court discovery rules, Toyota had an obligation to inform the woman's attorneys about the case when formally asked.

 

"Automobile manufacturers, in my practice, have been the toughest to deal with when it comes to sharing information, but Toyota has no peer," said attorney Ernest Cannon, who represented the family of 35-year-old Lisa Evans, who died in 2002 in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land.

 

The AP reviewed numerous cases around the country in which Toyota's actions were evasive, and sometimes even deceptive, in providing answers to questions posed by plaintiffs. Court rules generally allow a person or company who is sued to object to turning over requested information; it's permitted and even expected that defense attorneys play hardball, but it's a violation to claim evidence does not exist when it does.

 

Similar claims have been lodged by Dimitrios Biller, a former Toyota attorney who sued the company in August, contending it withheld evidence in considerably older rollover cases.

 

Rep. Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which has subpoenaed some of Biller's still-undisclosed records, says they show possible violations of discovery orders.

Toyota disputes Towns' statement and the accusations of deception. In a statement to the AP, Toyota said it plays by the rules when it comes to defending itself.

 

"Toyota takes its legal obligations seriously and strives to maintain the highest professional and ethical standards, in connection with litigation and otherwise," the company said. "We are confident we have acted appropriately with respect to product liability litigation."

 

How Toyota handled past lawsuits could indicate how it will deal with more than 130 potential class-action lawsuits filed by owners who claim the recent recalls have triggered a sharp loss in their vehicles' value. Separately, Toyota faces nearly 100 federal wrongful death and injury lawsuits by victims who blame their crashes on sudden acceleration.

 

A panel of federal judges decided last week to consolidate the sudden acceleration-related cases before U.S. District Judge James V. Selna in Orange County, Calif., near Los Angeles. Selna will handle key pretrial matters in all the cases, including decisions on what material and documents Toyota will be required to produce as evidence.

 

The dozens of lawsuits reviewed by the AP, spanning the past decade, dealt with allegations of vehicle rollovers, faulty air bag deployments, defective transmissions, bad brakes and crashes blamed on sudden acceleration — the issue at the heart of the company's current recall of some 8 million vehicles worldwide. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has linked 52 deaths to accelerator-related crashes.

 

Additional related lawsuits examined in the AP review found:

 

_Toyota hid the existence of its roof strength tests in numerous cases. A new potential class-action lawsuit filed in California on behalf of two women left paralyzed by separate Toyota rollover crashes contends that recently uncovered company documents contradict sworn testimony by Toyota officials that the company had no written standard for how far vehicle roofs could be crushed. The long-hidden documents indicate Toyota did have such a standard: roofs could come no closer than a half-millimeter from test dummies' heads in a rollover crash.

 

"This type of conduct by the Toyota defendants is illegal, immoral and unprofessional," said attorney E. Todd Tracy in a similar recent lawsuit accusing Toyota of fraud in older cases. "The Toyota defendants' cloak and dagger games must be terminated."

 

_Toyota claimed in court documents that a 2000 Camry had "no component" to record its speed at the time of a crash. A Texas woman suing the automaker asserted she was injured when the air bag failed to deploy. The case went to trial last September and ended with a jury ruling in Toyota's favor.

 

The attorney, Stephen Van Gaasbeck of San Antonio, later found documents showing the Camry did record such information and that Toyota had the ability to download it from vehicles as early as 1997, circumstances that now cause him to question the company's honesty.

 

"If we had the data, and the data said the speed was above what their air bag would have deployed at, then yes, it would have been a different case," said Van Gaasbeck. He added that an appeal based on the new information is unlikely because Texas appellate courts would likely favor Toyota based on previous rulings.

 

_The attorney for 76-year-old retiree Robert Elmes — hospitalized for five weeks after a 2006 crash in Pennsylvania in which he says his 2002 Camry surged forward unexpectedly — has sought repeatedly and unsuccessfully in federal court to obtain Toyota documents concerning the car's electronic throttle control.

 

Questions surrounding that device are at the center of the government's investigation into sudden acceleration. Toyota has denied the electronic throttle control is to blame for the crashes. Elmes, of Canonsburg, Pa., said it's clear Toyota is "dragging it out as long as possible" to avoid making any disclosures in court involving the electronic throttle control. Elmes filed his lawsuit in 2008, well before Toyota's recalls began.

 

"Before the accident, I thought that was the nicest car I ever owned. Now I think Toyota's interest is only in the bottom line, period, and they don't care about safety," Elmes said in a telephone interview. "I wouldn't take another Toyota if they gave it to me."

 

Toyota has filed court papers asking that most of these new lawsuits accusing the company of fraud years ago be included in the broader consolidation of sudden acceleration cases.

 

Attorneys who regularly defend corporate clients say it's common for plaintiffs' lawyers to complain they are not receiving the information they need and that Toyota's tactics do not necessarily indicate nefarious intent.

"It's always a battle in these big cases between plaintiffs and corporations as to what documents they have and whether or not they produce everything they should have," said Matthew Cairns, president-elect of the 22,500-member DRI-Voice of the Defense Bar group of civil defense attorneys. "Plaintiffs always try to get more, hoping to find something. It's for the court to ultimately resolve who is right."

 

Still, some attorneys who have fought Toyota in the past say the company's evasiveness exceeds the normal legal back-and-forth and that Toyota may have benefited from being based in another country.

 

"They've used the Pacific Ocean as a great defense to producing documents," said Graham Esdale, a lawyer in Montgomery, Ala., who has sued Toyota. "If Ford or General Motors tells you something and you don't believe that it's right, you can get a court order to go get access to the documents instead of relying on them. We can just go there and start poring through documents. We don't have that with the Japanese manufacturers."

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_toyota_legal_tactics

[Luv2play]

I have heard or read nothing since I first started this thread that persuades me that Toyota is not dead. I think this thing has just started.

[MsGuy]

Once bitten, twice shy.

 

Seems like Toyota is being a little more active in addressing a potential roll-over problem with the Lexus SUV. I'm sure Toyadasama is tearing his hair out over the timing on all this but his company seems to be facing the problem head on. No denials, just stop all sales of the vehicle and set the engineers to find a fix ASAP.

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303695604575181621429384014.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories#articleTabs%3Darticle

[Guest Tristan]

Once bitten, twice shy.

 

Seems like Toyota is being a little more active in addressing a potential roll-over problem with the Lexus SUV. I'm sure Toyadasama is tearing his hair out over the timing on all this but his company seems to be facing the problem head on. No denials, just stop all sales of the vehicle and set the engineers to find a fix ASAP.

 

I believe Consumer Reports provided an incentive for Toyota's faster response. Consumer Reports placed a "Don't Buy, Car Unsafe" on the luxury Lexus SUV after multiple testers found that the car rolls over before the electronic stability system kicks in. The last time they put a "Don't Buy, Car Unsafe" warning on a new model was in 2001.